Works & Process at the Guggenheimpresents the World Premiere ofWorks & Process Rotunda Project: Daniil SimkinFalls the Shadow with choreography by Alejandro CerrudoSeptember 4 & 5, 2017 at 8pm and 9:30pm

Spearheaded by American Ballet Theatre principal Daniil Simkin, with new choreography by Alejandro Cerrudo, projection design by Dmitrij Simkin, and costumes designed by Dior, Falls the Shadow is a new 30-minute work made in and for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum rotunda. It will feature dancers Daniil Simkin, ABT soloist Cassandra Trenary, Hubbard Street dancer Ana Lopez, and Brett Conway.

In “real-time,” their movements will be captured by motion sensors, generating 3-D mapped visuals that will be projected onto the surface of the rotunda to create an immersive experience that meshes technology, music, visuals, fashion, and dance.

Maria Grazia Chiuri, Artistic Director of Dior, designed the costumes to incorporate the production’s immense technical specifications while facilitating the unique choreography, through rehearsal observation and dialogue with the creative team. For Chiuri, the fundamental inspiration was shadows – flat surfaces that come to life through movement – which became a canvas to portray the Dior codes through celestial maps, symbols and slogans. The costumes were designed to intensify the expressive nature of the choreography, creating an abstract map on the dancers’ bodies. The outlining “J’Adior Christian Dior” band defines the body, as if to try to possess the energy of the dance, measuring and calibrating the movement.

“I imagined the costumes beginning with the body’s expressive role in dance: they’re skintight and above all support the subtle gestures, flexible poses, and sinuous movements. I was also thinking of shadows and how they’re an integral component in architecture, especially at the Guggenheim: a flat, reflective, seemingly passive surface can actually have its own contrasting identity. I think the costumes contribute to the architecture of the performance and are tools to define the body, together immersing and isolating it from the projections on the rotunda,” said Maria Grazia Chiuri. “In that sense, they are part of the performers’ experience, who feel them on their bodies, but also of the audience, who are participating in such a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

In 2017, Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, launched a new initiative, commissioning site-specific residencies and performances for the iconic Guggenheim Museum rotunda. Falls the Shadow will be the second Works & Process Rotunda Project and will be the culmination of rotunda residencies spanning five-weeks.

This 30-minute performance will be viewed from the ramps and requires audience members to stand for the duration of the program. Limited seating with diminished views available on the rotunda floor.

Daniil Simkin, co-producer and dancerBorn in 1987 in Novosibirsk, Russia, to ballet dancers Dmitrij Simkin and Olga Aleksandrova, Daniil started to perform at the age of six, often alongside his father in Germany, gaining early stage experience. He began his professional training under the direction of his mother at the age of nine. While training with his mother privately for 10 years, he competed in international ballet competitions and performed in galas around the world. His achievements include awards such as the Grand Prix in Helsinki IBC 2004 and Vienna 2004 and Gold medals in both Varna 2004 and in the senior category of the 2006 USA IBC, among others. In 2006 he joined the ballet of the Vienna State Opera as a demi-soloist and performed soloist and principal parts. Simultaneously he performed guest roles with other companies such as Basilio in Don Quixote, Solor in La Bayadere, and the Rose in Fokine's La Spectre de la Rose. He joined American Ballet Theatre in 2008 as a soloist, was promoted to principal in 2012, and has toured internationally and performed with the company at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center and numerous venues around the world. His vast repertoire of principal roles with the company include Basilio in Don Quixote, Franz in Coppelia, the son in Balanchine's The Prodigal Son, the Prince in Ratmansky's Nutcracker, the Boy with Matted Hair in Tudor's Shadowplay, the leads in Balanchine's Theme and Variations and Tschaikovsky Pas de Deux, the Ballet Dancer in Ratmasky's The Bright Stream and many others. He organized his first gala project, INTENSIO, with his father in Greece in 2009 and continues to be one of the most in-demand guest artists around the world.

Alejandro Cerrudo, choreographerBorn in Madrid, Spain, Alejandro trained at the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza de Madrid. His professional career began in 1998 and includes work with Victor Ullate Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater 2. Cerrudo joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago in 2005, was named Choreographic Fellow in 2008, and became the company’s first Resident Choreographer in 2009. Thirteen works choreographed to date for Hubbard Street include collaborations with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Nederlands Dans Theater. These pieces and additional commissions are in repertory at companies around the U.S. as well as in Australia, Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands; touring engagements have brought his work still further abroad, to audiences in Algeria, Canada, Morocco and Spain. In 2012, Pacific Northwest Ballet invited Cerrudo to choreograph his first work for the company, Memory Glow, upon receiving the Joyce Theater Foundation’s Rudolf Nureyev Prize for New Dance. Additional honors include an award from the Boomerang Fund for Artists (2011), Prince Prize for Commissioning Original Work from the Prince Charitable Trusts (2012) for his acclaimed, first evening-length work, One Thousand Pieces, and USA Donnelley Fellow by United States Artists (2014). Cerrudo is one of four choreographers invited by New York City Ballet principal Wendy Whelan to create and perform original duets for Restless Creature.

Ana Lopez, dancerAna began her formal training at Conservatorio de Danza Diputacion de A Coruña. Upon graduating Isaac Diaz Pardo High School, she continued her training at Centro Internacional de Danza Carmen Roche. Prior to join­ing Hubbard Street in January 2008, Lopez danced with Joven Ballet Carmen Roche, Compañía Nacional de Danza 2 in works by Nacho Duato and Tony Fabre, and Ballet Theater Munich under the directorship of Philip Taylor. She was named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” for 2012.

Cassandra Trenary, dancerA native of Lawrenceville, Georgia, American Ballet Theatre Soloist Cassandra Trenary began training at Southern Ballet Theatre in 2006, studying not only ballet but also jazz, tap, modern dance, and hip-hop. After attending ABT’s Summer Intensive programs as a National Training Scholar, she joined ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School in 2009. In 2011, she was offered an apprenticeship with ABT and, in November of that year, a corps de ballet contract. She was promoted to Soloist in 2015. Trenary was named a 2011 National YoungArts Foundation Winner and through YoungArts became a 2011 U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts Nominee. She is also the recipient of a 2015 Princess Grace Dance Honorarium and a 2017 Leonore Annenberg Fellowship. Trenary has been invited to perform as a guest artist in gala performances and companies internationally. She has been featured in projects such as Daniil Simkin’s INTENSIO and in work by Joshua Beamish of MOVE: the company.

Dmitrij Simkin, projection designDmitrij Simkin was born in Perm. After studying at the Bolshoi Ballet School he began his career as principal dancer with Novosibirsk State Opera. In 1988 he took the First prize in the National Ballet Competition in Moscow, Grand Prix and Gold Medal in the International Competition in Paris, and won Gold Medal in the acclaimed Ballet Competition in Varna. In 1990 Dmitrij moved with his family to the west and danced in Graz, Austria followed by engagements with the Deutsche Oper am Rhein from 1991-1993. From 1993 until 2007 he was principal dancer with Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden. Starting in 1995 Dmitrij created choreographic works with "As long as you lust" being awarded "Prix d'encouragement" at the Concours de choregraphie de Paris in 1999. After his 25-year dance career, he now works as a stage designer (www.stage3d.com).

Works & Process at the Guggenheim Described by The New York Times as “an exceptional opportunity to understand something of the creative process,” for over 33 years and in over 500 productions, New Yorkers have been able to see, hear, and meet the most acclaimed artists in the world, in an intimate setting unlike any other. Works & Process, the performing arts series at the Guggenheim, has championed new works and offered audiences unprecedented access to generations of leading creators and performers. Most performances take place in the Guggenheim’s intimate Frank Lloyd Wright–designed 285-seat Peter B. Lewis Theater. In 2017, Works & Process established a new residency and commissioning program, inviting artists to create new works, made in and for the iconic Guggenheim rotunda. worksandprocess.org.